Real
by Zephyrbolt
Summary: They say it's over. He says it's only just begun. /post RomaHeta AU.
1. 0

**Hello and welcome. This is my new project. It is a post RomaHeta AU, and it's set to two years after the events of RomaHeta occurred. Human names will be used as they are in the videos. This is an AU after all. The characters will not be countries. They will be human.  
But we'll get to that when we get to that! This is the prologue, hence the use of '0' even though it's not really a Roman numeral, is it? ^^;**

**Enjoy. Reviews appreciated.**

**0. He Lives**

The air is heavy and dry; it's difficult for him to open his brown eyes after a good night's rest. He dreads the entire process of waking up, and he doesn't  
want to leave the warmth of his bed. He doesn't like being pulled away from his dream which he instantly forgets (he's not even sure if he dreams), and he doesn't like the world he is forced to face.  
His eyes are soulless as he exits his house, preparing for the worst. As if on cue, an arrow makes it's presence known, but luckily due to his sharp  
reflexes he is easily able to avoid it. The arrow hits the door frame instead, and he glances at it, his glare seeming to carry the fires of hell. Whatever monster shot the arrow at him, it was long gone. That's the way it always happens. They launch an attack, and then leave. As if they're afraid of him, which he didn't understand.  
He always wonders what he did to make the creatures so angry at him. The strange monsters he was forced to share the world with took every chance  
they could to send some sort of attack in his direction, but he was always able to avoid it because of his reflexes. Reflexes so quick, they didn't seem _human_.  
There's a strange feeling settled in his chest, like a flurry of snow. It's alien, and he doesn't know what to do about it. He feels like something is missing  
from his life. He doesn't understand why he feels such emotion, but he wondered what it was all about. For a while, he thought that he had developed amnesia, because when he first woke up in what seemed like years, he couldn't remember a thing. He couldn't remember his name, or who he was, or how old he was, or anything that could help him.  
Even with all the emotion he feels, be it happiness, sorrow, or angry, he still had that same empty feeling. He felt _fake_.  
The monsters took it upon themselves to remind him of the deed he apparently committed. What the deed was, he of course couldn't remember, but it  
had to have been horrible for the monsters to hate him with such a passion. Even so, their attacks never did him any real damage, and they always ran off in fear before he could do anything about it. He decided that it would be best to try to ignore them.  
When he believed he was a victim of amnesia, he wanted nothing more than to remember. Remember just who he was, what he had done to get the  
monsters to hate him. He wanted to remember everything about the world that he could.  
He wanted to remember why he felt so fake.  
But that was two years ago. He dismissed the thoughts of amnesia after a while, and he decided that there was nothing missing in his life. He may have  
decided that, but he still felt fake. Empty.

The monsters called him many things.  
_Mistake. Doppelganger. Fake. Wrong. Waste of life. Failure._  
But there was one that stuck out. He wasn't sure why, but he felt he had some sort of connection with the word. He liked it, and decided to use it as his name. He didn't know if he had a name before he woke up two years ago, but it was better then nothing.  
He chose the name Error. And he was someone who lived.

* * *

**Hehe, confused yet? Just as planned.  
****Don't worry, everything will be explained in time.**

**-Zephyrbolt**


	2. I

**Well that was a fast update. Don't be expecting this kind of thing all the time, now.**

**Plot begins! Mwhaha.**

* * *

I. He Wonders

Error eyed the arrow lodged into his door frame, flexing his fingers so they would loosen and he could attempt to try and pull it out. He wasn't a particularly weak person, but arrows were always stubborn and this one was lodged deeply into the wood.  
Gripping the arrow, he tried to pull it out. His muscles were tense and after a few attempts, he decided that he would need a tool of some sort to assist him. He rubbed his temples in annoyance, and then something odd happened. A flick of light caught his attention, and he looked up.  
The arrow was frozen solid.  
Error was baffled as to why such a thing could happen, and on a sunny day no less. When he touched the encased arrow out of curiosity it grew warmer and melted away, leaving steam in its wake.  
He pulled his hand away, startled. The ice melted, the arrow burned into ash.  
What the hell was going on? Error narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the spot where the arrow was, confusion clear on his face. Why were these things happening to him? They had never happened before...so why now?  
"You finally using your powers?" A voice said, Error glancing up to the roof to find a griffin perched up there, his tail wagging back and forth.  
"...Powers...? What are you talking about?" Error asked the griffin, eyes narrowing again and head titling, giving the black-haired man the look of a confused hellhound pup.  
"Don't fake ignorance, you fool. That'll get you nowhere."  
Fool? No one had ever called him a fool before. Although the word was new to him, it still hurt. It wasn't like the other names he was called, this one made him feel like he was truly worthless and stupid. He felt anger rising up from his core, and his palms felt icy. He clenched his fingers, making fists.  
"Oh, I know," Error said, coming up with a plan to use the fear all the monsters felt for him. A plan he could use to get answers from the griffin. "I just want to know if _you_ know what sort of powers I have. What I'm capable of." Just as he planned, the air around the griffin started to freeze. The cold frost latched itself onto his wings, freezing them. The griffin himself fluttered his wings about in fear, trying to break the ice so he could get away. He realized that it probably wasn't a wise idea to enrage Error. "Tell me what you know," he continued, venom in his force, striking fear in the griffin. "If you know what is good for you."  
"You fool; how could you not know?" The griffin said, his voice calm and clear, while his golden eyes revealed that he was scared out of his wits. "You can control the very elements! You can control space itself! You think I am a fool; I know this ice is not natural, I know you did this. If you wanted to, you could do anything!"

If the things the griffin spoke of were true, if he really could control space itself, then why couldn't he remember it? As Error walked along the path on the way to a specific place, he couldn't help but wonder. He ran a hand through his black hair, letting out a sigh. Was there more to his life than what it seemed? Was it the cause of the empty feeling he had inside? Was something...missing? If so, then why the hell couldn't he remember ever having these powers before?!  
Error reached his destination within minutes. It was a small hut on the outskirts of the area he was most familiar with. Once he entered the hut, he was embraced by heat, various herbal smells, and the soft chirping of crickets.  
"What do you want?" A venomous voice said, the owner revealing herself to be a monster with the body of a woman but with orange and black skin, scaly like a reptile's.  
Error bowed out of respect to the reptilian, hoping to win her favor. If he could remember correctly, the sign outside told him that she was a herbalist. The species of lizard she was, was what he was interested in though.  
"I come to you asking a favor."  
"Why should I help you?" She retorted before he even finished the word 'favor'. Her wits were quick.  
"Because if you don't, I'll lower the temperature in your home, killing both your source of food and eventually you yourself." His eyes were blank as he spoke, watching her face for reactions. What he got was just what he wanted.  
She rose an eyebrow. "So you've rediscovered your powers." She sighed. "Alright alright, no need to be rash. What is your favor?"  
Error's entire visage changed. His eyes were no longer blank, and his eyes were no longer stoic. He let his true emotion out. He just wanted help. "Help me," he told her. His voice sounded pleading. The reptile woman was obviously surprised at the display of emotion.  
"My my, what a surprise, seeing the fearful Error so close to breaking down." She laughed softly. The strange thing was, she didn't even seem to be afraid of him, which was a first. He had never met her before, but he assumed that all the monsters feared him. "What do you need help with?"  
If he wasn't trying to appear like he was someone who should be feared, then Error might have actually cried. But it didn't matter. The tears would be empty, just like the rest of him. "I want to remember. That's all I want. I just want to remember. You are a Gila monster. Your venom has been said to bring memories back. Help me, please."  
"...you realize that is only a myth, correct? I don't know if my venom will truly bring whatever memory you want back."  
"I have to try. Please, I just need to know."

The reptilian Gila monster found it pointless to argue with Error, it would only lengthen the time he was around her, and she wanted him gone as quickly as possible. She had finished extracting the venom from her fangs into a small cup. Hopefully it would be enough. She wasn't even sure if her venom would actually help him, but he sounded desperate. Even though it amused her when it was him, she hated seeing anyone in that kind of condition.  
"Here," she said, handing Error the cup. He looked at it with a confused look on his face. "Drink it, idiot. Don't blame me if it doesn't work."  
And so Error took a big gulp of the Gila monster's venom, swallowing it all at once. He barely tasted it, and he was glad for this because he felt that he really didn't want to taste it. If the venom really brought his memory back, he would finally know. He would know why he felt so empty. Why he had these powers. Why he was who he was. He would finally have the answers he was searching for for two years.  
Noticing that his expression didn't change, the woman raised an eyebrow and waited for him to start yelling. "...Do you feel any different? Remember anything?"  
As if on cue, images flashed behind his eyelids, showing him what he so desired to see. It was all brought to him in a sudden wave, and he could feel a migraine coming on. His brown eyes were wide and his pupils darted back and forth, as if he were trying to watch the images like it was a movie in front of his face. But only he could see them. Only he knew. Only he could feel the emotion. Only he felt the hate.  
"...Did you remember what you wanted to?" The reptilian asked tentatively slightly afraid that he would snap at her if the venom didn't work. She was sure it did though, because of what his eyes were doing, unless it was some kind of freak side effect.  
"...I saw everything. Everything I wanted. Thank you." He stood up from his chair, bowed again, and left her hut without another word, just like he had promised.

Oh, he saw everything alright. It was all too clear to him. He was now aware of why the monsters feared him. He was right to be feared because of what he had done in the past. He almost got their world destroyed.  
They weren't even real. None of it was real. The monsters weren't real, the environment wasn't real...

_Error wasn't real._

They were all just constructed works of data for a game that someone who looked like him was developing (or was it that he looked like that someone?). Someone, who he could clearly remember now. Someone who, in the past, tried to destroy him and his world with the help of his friends. Someone who would feel his wrath.  
Viruses never die. They just keep mutating. And soon, Kiku Honda would know just what happens when you don't update your anti-virus program.

* * *

**Hehe. I'm going to enjoy this story. I can already tell.  
P.S. There is a theory that the venom of a Gila monster, which is a real lizard by the way, can actually help your memory. It's in the works~ Look it up, it's actually really cool!**

**~Zephyrbolt**


	3. II

**This story just won't leave me alone. But that's okay. I like writing it.**

* * *

II. He Wants

_"This...isn't possible..." Error muttered as he fell to his knees. He just couldn't accept it. There was no way he had been defeated. His plan was foolproof, so why did it fail? All the others had already left, and it was only the young man who he came to hate. Kiku Honda. The one who looked just like him. Only he was left. Everyone else was gone. They were alone. "This isn't real..."_  
_"This is happening. You are done, Error. It's over." Kiku's voice was clear and calm, and he wasn't going to be saying anything different._  
_"No..." Error shook his head in utter disbelief. His powers were stripped away, so he was just another weak creature in the virtual world he called home._

_Kiku was quick to act once he too returned to the real world from the video game. The game that needed to be destroyed. And so, with all of his friends there as witnesses, he took the game's files and erased them all. It was like the game was never even made in the first place._  
_He put it off as his mind playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn he heard screams._

_Once the computer was shut down, and night had fallen and all life was asleep, a little flit of light was alive in the computer's hardrive. The game was still alive. By some unlikely chance, the game wasn't deleted. They were still alive. Every last one of the monsters was still alive._  
_Error, who had collapsed in a crippled heap on the ground, was suddenly alive again. His hand twitched, and it curled into a fist, gripping at the grass. He wasn't going to die so easily._  
_He got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, and then he glanced around the area, a curious look in his brown eyes. It was like this was his first time seeing the place he called home._  
_"Where...is this?" He muttered, having no real idea of where he was. His mind was clear, like a blank slate. He suddenly couldn't remember anything. _

"This will not happen again..." Error muttered under his breath as he looked through his records of the game's data. The game that he once thought was real. As the apparent god of the game, he was able to access the data systems and text logs.  
Sure enough, he was able to find the incident from two years ago.  
_A group of high school seniors, led by Kiku Honda, end Error's dark reign. Peace is restored to the game world, and the students return to their world. Kiku attempts to erase the game from existence, but the game was able to survive by some unknown means. Error lived on._  
The files told of everything that he had done over the past two years, and it even said what he did only ten minutes ago. The updating process was very fast, and within ten minutes, it would say that he had been reading the files.  
"You can't get rid of me that easily..." He said, his breath hoarse, his voice dark. Now that he could clearly remember what had happened two years ago, why his memory was taken from him, and why the monsters were so eager to hate him...he wanted nothing more than to have blood on his hands. He knew he could kill if he wanted to, but it would take a lot of energy and power to pull the students into the virtual world like he had last time. They all thought he was dead. Long gone.  
Error tossed a small ember back and forth in his hands out of boredom, waiting for an idea to come to him. Something that he could use to get his revenge.

Something he could use to finally be _alive_.

* * *

It had been two years since his last game failed, but that didn't mean Kiku was going to abandon the gaming world completely. No, he always looked for new ideas and inspiration for a new game that he could make. One that wouldn't spawn a virus that would try to kill he and his friends. One that his friends could come over to his house on the weekend to play.

He often found inspiration in the games that were popular with his age group, such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and many others. After he graduated high school, he majored in game design; he always wanted to ever since he was a little kid.  
"Now if I introduce the antagonist here..." Kiku muttered as he typed on his computer, working on a script for a new game that he had been working on for about a year or so now. It was going to be a classic fighting game, complete with magic and monsters. He couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity he got when he thought of his new game, it was very similar to his last one. Hopefully this one wouldn't become a living hell.

When Kiku returned to the computer later that evening, he read over what he had written to make sure there were no mistakes. An IM message popped up on the screen, saying _Kiku, I'm still here._, which was odd because he didn't remember talking to anyone before. He elected to ignore the message.  
_Kiku, why are you ignoring me?_  
_I'm still here._  
_Did you think you could get rid of me that easily?_  
_Don't act like you don't know who I am._  
_I remember you clearly. _  
Okay, now these messages were starting to freak him out. Even though he knew the right thing to do would be to find out who it was and report them, he still found himself typing in the reply box.  
_I don't know you. Leave me alone._  
_It's funny how you pretend not to know me. _  
As Kiku continued the IM conversation with whoever the stranger was, he got that achingly familiar feeling again. He felt like he knew this person, he just couldn't place a name or face. Was it one of his friends playing a trick on him? The mannerisms and speech patterns were eerily close to his own...  
_Kiku, why do you try to pretend you do not know me? That isn't a very kind thing to do._  
_I'm not pretending. I don't know who you are. Please stop messaging me._  
_In two years, you haven't changed at all. _  
Kiku's eyes widened slightly when he finished reading. So it was someone he knew from two years ago...that was senior year in high school, and all he could really remember happening in that year was..._oh no_.  
Before he can even place his fingers on the keyboard to type a reply, he feels a pulling sensation, centered around his heart. Horribly reminding him of the very same event that happened two years ago. When his body fell on the table, his head hitting the keys, he knew exactly what he was dealing with.

* * *

When Kiku's form materialized in front of him, Error gave off a devilish aura, which matched the grin he wore. "Hello, Kiku." It had been two years since the two of them had met like this. That would mean he was now a sophomore in college, about twenty years old. "You haven't changed a bit."

"How are you alive? I deleted this world and you along with it!" Kiku said in an uncharacteristically loud voice.  
"You waste no time."  
"Answer me. How are you alive?"  
Error shrugged. "I do not know the answer to your question. All I know is I woke up, maybe an hour or so after you attempted to erase my world from existence, but alas, I couldn't remember anything. And what luck that I happened to remember everything yesterday."  
"I defeated you once, I'll do it again." Kiku's shoulders were tense, like he was ready to attack. All Error did was raise an eyebrow, made his grin a little bigger, and laughed softly. It was a dark laugh.  
"Sadly, no you cannot. You have no power here. Here you are just like me...well, before yesterday. Here you are just what you are outside: a weak little human."  
Feeling deflated, Kiku knew that Error was right. He wasn't in control, even half-way, like he was last time. This time, Error was calling all the shots. He was truly the god of the virtual world. "What do you want, virus?"  
"I'd prefer it if you would call me by my name. You and your friends gave it to me, so why not use it?"  
"What do you want, Error?" He repeated the question, but with more spite. He stared his doppelganger down with a fiery glare, which, if he had any powers, could actually create a fire.  
"I believe you know the answer to that question. What is it that the newborn baby wants? Acceptance and love. What is it that the dying man wants? Life."  
"...you want acceptance, love, and life. After what you did, I don't think that's going to be happening anytime soon."  
Error laughed that dark laugh of his again. "Maybe not in this form," he said, gesturing to his body. "But, if you haven't noticed, I am the god of this world. I can do whatever I please. I can control the heavens, time and space itself."  
"You plan on changing your form, then. That won't fool the monsters who share this world with you."  
Error didn't say anything, he only grinned the grin of a devil and once again, Kiku felt that pulling sensation. Like someone was trying to rip his soul from his body. And that was just what was going on. It was a grueling process that seemed to last hours, but in reality only lasted a few split seconds.  
When Kiku opened his eyes, he was looking at himself. Or at least, he thought he was...yes, he was, he could tell because he was wearing clothes that he could sleep in for the night. It took a moment for him to realize that he was looking at _himself_. A large grin was spread across his face, and his eyes looked cold.  
"Impressed? I honestly didn't think it would work." That voice. That wasn't his voice. Even if it was very similar, it wasn't his. That voice was Error's.  
"What did you do?" Kiku shouted out in a panicky voice. He knew the answer, but such a thing only happened in movies and TV shows, and anime, and...it wasn't possible!  
"What does it look like I did? I used some power of mine to switch our souls. Now you're in my body and I'm in yours. Of course, since I switched our souls completely, that doesn't mean that you have my powers now, no, that wouldn't be a very good thing, now would it?" Error, from Kiku's body, explained. "Maybe this form will do me some good." He brought his fist up to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Don't you think?" Kiku's eyes widened as he spoke the words in a perfect impersonation of his voice.  
Before he could say anything else, Error was gone in a small portal, taking his body with him and going off to do who know's what. The portal was gone as soon as he left, and then Kiku was alone.

For the first time in a long time, he felt utterly _alone_.

* * *

**And we learn Error's true motives. As if they weren't obvious in the prologue XP **  
**I think the next chapter is when it will get interesting.**

**Next time: III. He Breathes**

**~Zephyrbolt**


End file.
